Aug

21

Shut up Cry Baby

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It’s getting close to back to school time, and I’m already seeing stories popping up about the crippling effects carrying a backpack to school has on our kids.

First of all kids have been carrying their books home for decades without any problems, why all the fuss now? If all you got to complain about is a heavy backpack then I would have to say your life is pretty good.

Dec

31

L A Weight Loss Centers, Inc. Names Newest Spokesperson - Entertainer Steve Harvey

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Host of the Syndicated Morning Show “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” Gets with the Program to Reach His Weight Loss Goals

L A Weight Loss Centers, Inc., one
of the world’s fastest growing weight loss programs, has named entertainer
Steve Harvey as their newest corporate spokesperson. This new partnership
will kick off with the “Brand New You Weight Loss Challenge,” just one of many
promotional campaigns that will debut with Steve Harvey. The weight loss
challenge will air on Harvey’s syndicated morning show beginning January 2,
2006.
“We are thrilled to have Steve Harvey as one of our many wonderful
partners,” said Vahan Karian, Chairman and CEO of L A Weight Loss Centers,
Inc. “Steve brings a special kind of energy to our company and we think he
will be a great inspiration to all of our clients.”
Ever the “King of Comedy,” Harvey decided to take control of his kingly
eating habits and get himself back into shape. Harvey knew he needed help,
and knew L A Weight Loss was just the place the get it. Under the guidance of
Dara Steiger, the L A Weight Loss Director of Behavior Education and
Nutrition, Harvey will get the tools he needs to achieve his weight loss
goals.
L A Weight Loss is fast becoming the premiere choice of effective and long
lasting weight loss programs among men and women alike. Harvey joins other
celebrity partners, including Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid and
Defensive Tackle Hollis Thomas who have recently joined L A Weight Loss.
Steve Harvey hit the 2004 silver screen with two movie releases. Screen
Gems box office smash “You Got Served” and Fox Search Light’s “Johnson’s
Family Vacation” re-uniting Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer. After
completing a second season of the WB’s “Steve Harvey’s Big Time Challenge” his
latest blockbuster animated live action family film “Racing Stripes” with
Warner Brother/Alcon Entertainment hit theatres this past January and featured
the voices of Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg and David Spade.
And if film and TV aren’t enough, Steve Harvey stirred the helms of his
popular daily morning drive radio show in Los Angeles, California and Dallas,
Texas. And now, “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” lands in the Big Apple, New
York City. The show is uplifting, inspirational, motivating, covers topical
issues and community concerns that touch everyone. It combines heart, humor,
great music for grown people and hot celebrities from the entertainment and
sports world. Some of his guests have included chart topping artists, award
winning celebrities, and American Idols.
Always known for his impeccable and undeniable style, designers on all
fronts have joined forces with Harvey in the creation of “The Steve Harvey
Collection” which features suits, shirts, ties, hats, and shoes.
A native of Cleveland Ohio and the youngest of five children, Steve makes
his home in Dallas with his family. He and his wife continue their unending
pursuit and commitment to further opportunities in local schools in both
cities with their generous contributions to the Steve and Mary L. Harvey
Foundation. Mr. Harvey is currently a spokesperson for GMC Yukon Denali and
Tracfone.

Sep

8

Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Obesity Drug Safe in Phase Ia Study

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Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Obesity Drug Safe in Phase Ia Study
Prior Animal Studies Suggest This Experimental Drug Resets The Brain’s ‘Appetite Meter’

NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) — Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB:MHTT) said Oleoyl-estrone, its experimental obesity drug, was shown to be safe with no serious adverse events noted in a Phase Ia study of 36 obese volunteers.

The results were announced this morning at the Oppenheimer & Co. Diabetes Conference at the Warwick Hotel during a presentation by Manhattan’s chief executive officer, Douglas Abel.

The dose-escalating study was conducted to measure the pharmacokinetic profile of Oleoyl-estrone (OE), as well as its safety and tolerability in obese males and females. Twelve of the 36 patients received placebo and 24 received a single dose of OE in one of six strengths ranging from 1mg to 150mg.

A follow-on study, a Phase Ib, will assess the drug’s safety and tolerability in 24 obese volunteers in four cohorts of six patients each receiving either placebo or OE in doses ranging from 10mg to 150mg for seven consecutive days. The company anticipates releasing additional data from these studies in the early Fall.

OE is an orally administered small molecule that lowers the appetite setting in the brain’s ponderostat, decreasing food intake without affecting energy expenditure. It has been shown to cause significant weight loss in extensive preclinical studies with lean and obese animals, even in the presence of abundant food and water.

Obesity is one of the most common metabolic disorders in the world. Nearly 61 percent of all Americans are considered to be overweight, and 26 percent are considered to be obese. The World Bank estimates that obesity alone accounts for more than 12 percent of the U.S. national health care budget. The National Institutes of Health estimated that direct costs for the treatment of obesity in 1988 were in excess of $45 billion and accounted for nearly ten percent of the total national cost of health care; a decade later, annual direct costs for the treatment of obesity had risen to $102 billion. As these statistics illustrate, obesity is a rapidly growing, costly disease for which there is currently no effective treatment. Moreover, diet and physical exercise regimens are difficult to maintain. As a result, most overweight patients can lose only moderate amounts of weight, and usually only for a short period of time. The current medications for the treatment of obesity have significant side effects that limit their use.

Manhattan believes that a safe, effective, orally administered compound that not only produces, but also sustains weight loss would be a breakthrough in the treatment of obesity, and would represent a significant advantage over currently available treatments. The company estimates that the future market opportunity is in the multi-billions of dollars range, given the number of individuals in the U.S. suffering from obesity and the rapid growth of the problem globally.

Aug

31

Most Popular Diet Related Search Terms

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Lycos Announces the Most Popular Restaurants, Recipes, Exercise and Diet- Related Search Terms This Spring; Low-Carb Craze Drops in Popularity.

Lycos, Inc a leading provider of search, community and technology lifestyle destinations and a wholly owned subsidiary of Daum Communications, Corp. (KOSDAQ: 035720), a premier Internet portal in Korea, today announced the most popular restaurants, recipes, diet and exercise-related search terms based on The Lycos 50 (http://50.lycos.com/), a weekly list of the most popular people, places and things Lycos users search for every day. For a complete list of The Lycos 50 top fast food restaurant and diet-related searches, and for in-depth commentary of The Lycos 50 Daily Report, go to http://50.lycos.com/. Readers of The Lycos 50 can also share their thoughts on Internet trends and pop culture on The Lycos 50 Blog located at http://lycos50.tripod.com/blog/.

The Lycos 50(TM) Most-Searched Fast Food Restaurants for week ending March 26, 2005:

1. Pizza Hut
2. McDonald’s
3. Domino’s
4. Starbucks
5. Papa John’s
6. Burger King
7. Subway
8. Wendy’s
9. KFC
10. Krispy Kreme

The Lycos 50(TM) Top Restaurant Searches for week ending March 26, 2005:
1. Hooters
2. Applebees
3. Olive Garden
4. TGI Friday’s
5. Red Lobster
6. Chuck E. Cheese
7. Cheesecake Factory
8. Chili’s
9. Macaroni Grill
10. Outback Steakhouse
The Lycos 50(TM) Top Diet-Related Searches for week ending March 26, 2005:
1. Weight Watchers
2. Atkins Diet
3. South Beach Diet
4. Trim Spa
5. Zone Diet
6. Green Tea Diet
7. CortiSlim
8. Cabbage Soup Diet
9. Slimfast
10. LA Weightloss

The Lycos 50(TM) Top Exercise-Related Searches for week ending March 26, 2005:

1. Yoga
2. Pilates
3. Capoeira
4. Curves for Women
5. Kickboxing
6. Hatha Yoga
7. Spinning
8. 24 Hour Fitness
9. Bikram Yoga
10. Bally’s Total Fitness

The Lycos 50(TM) Top Recipe Searches for week ending March 26, 2005
1. Cookie Recipes
2. Chicken Recipes
3. Crock Pot Recipes
4. Lo Carb Recipes
5. Cake Recipes
6. Chili Recipes
7. Italian Recipes
8. Soup Recipes
9. Mexican Recipes
10. Soul Food Recipes

Notes of Interest:

Pizza Hut passes McDonald’s this year as the most-searched fast food restaurant with Lycos users, generating nearly 50 percent more search activity than the “golden arches.”

“We noticed a drop in search activity for McDonald’s over the past year, particularly after news surfaced that the company planned to focus less on super-sizing items on their menus,” said Dean Tsouvalas, writer of The Lycos 50. “On the flip side, Pizza Hut searches continue to rise, so if web search activity is any indication, healthy trends in fast food are fading in popularity.”

Similarly, a drop in the carbohydrate craze is also evident in this year’s recipe searches. Cookie recipes are currently the most popular recipe search with web users, moving up from number 10 last year.

“Diets and diet-related terms really got off to a slow start in 2005, compared to previous years,” Tsouvalas added. “We generally see searches for Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach and others, spike in early January as people make their New Year’s resolutions to lose weight. But this year, the popular diets haven’t generated enough search activity to make our weekly Lycos 50 list, and even the generic term, diet, didn’t make our list until the first week of February.”

While diet-related terms have dropped off in popularity, exercise terms are soaring.

“The most popular activity people are turning to online, as a way to shed those winter pounds, is yoga. Yoga is three times more popular than the other hot weight loss regime — Pilates — with Bikram Yoga generating more searches than any other yoga form,” Tsouvalas said.

If search activity is any indication, the next wellness craze will be Capoeira. “We started noticing searches for Capoeira last year but in the past few months, the searches have tripled. Search queries include Capoeira philosophy, capoeira music, capoeira jewelry, and capoeira classes, and even though it is far from entering The Lycos 50, Capoeira generates as much search activity as motorcycles and basketball,” Tsouvalas added.